Methods, systems, and apparatus for dynamically adjusting radiated signals

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for providing dynamically adjusted radiated signals are disclosed. In one aspect, a method of detecting one or more objects in a path of travel of a vehicle may include generating a laser with radiated power. The method may further include emitting the laser in a direction of travel of the vehicle and receiving one or more reflections of the emitted laser reflected from the one or more objects located in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The method may also further include generating a signal indicating that the one or more objects are in a path of the vehicle based on the received one or more reflections. The method may also include dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser based on an input corresponding to one or more of (i) a current speed of the vehicle or (ii) a current position of the vehicle.

1 . A method of detecting one or more objects in a path of travel of a vehicle, comprising:
 generating a laser transmission having a radiated power;   receiving one or more reflections of the laser transmission reflected from the one or more objects located near the vehicle;   generating an indication that the one or more objects are proximate to a path of the vehicle based on the received one or more reflections;   dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission based on (i) a current speed of the vehicle or (ii) a current position of the vehicle, or a combination thereof; and   limiting the radiated power based on a maximum power threshold, wherein the maximum power threshold is adjusted based upon the current position of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving the current speed of the vehicle or the current position of the vehicle from a positioning circuit comprising one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) configured to receive signals from one or more satellites. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving the current speed of the vehicle or the current position of the vehicle from a positioning circuit comprising a local positioning system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission based on the current speed of the vehicle includes increasing the radiated power of the laser transmission as the current speed of the vehicle increases, and decreasing the radiated power of the laser transmission as the current speed of the vehicle decreases. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission based on the current speed of the vehicle includes accessing a lookup table based on the current speed of the vehicle to obtain a signal strength adjustment value. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the lookup table includes a minimum power threshold value and the maximum power threshold for each of a plurality of vehicle speeds. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission includes adjusting one or more of an intensity, luminance, frequency, beam diameter, an orientation, and a direction of the laser transmission. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus, comprising:
 at least one memory;   at least one geolocation circuit;   at least one vehicle speed sensor;   at least one object detection sensor;   at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one geolocation circuit, the at least one vehicle speed sensor, and the at least one object detection sensor, and configured to:
 generate, with the at least one object detection sensor, a laser transmission having a radiated power; 
 receive, with the at least one object detection sensor, one or more reflections of the laser transmission reflected from one or more objects located near a vehicle; 
 generate, with the at least one object detection sensor, an indication that the one or more objects are proximate to a path of the vehicle based on the received one or more reflections; 
 adjust the radiated power of the laser transmission based on (i) a current speed of the vehicle measured by the at least one vehicle speed sensor or (ii) a current position of the vehicle determined by the at least one geolocation circuit, or a combination thereof; and 
 limit the radiated power based on a maximum power threshold, wherein the maximum power threshold is adjusted based upon the current position of the vehicle. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one geolocation circuit includes a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) configured to receive signals from one or more satellites. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one geolocation circuit includes a local positioning system. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to increase the radiated power of the laser transmission as the current speed of the vehicle increases, and decrease the radiated power of the laser transmission as the current speed of the vehicle decreases. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to access a lookup table based on the current speed of the vehicle to obtain a signal strength adjustment value, and to adjust the radiated power of the laser transmission based on the signal strength adjustment value. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the lookup table includes a minimum radiated power threshold value and a maximum radiated power threshold for each of a plurality of vehicle speeds. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to adjust one or more of an intensity, luminance, frequency, beam diameter, an orientation, and a direction of the laser transmission. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus for detecting one or more objects in a path of travel of a vehicle, comprising:
 means for generating a laser transmission having a radiated power;   means for receiving one or more reflections of the laser transmission reflected from the one or more objects located near the vehicle;   means for generating an indication that the one or more objects are proximate to a path of the vehicle based on the received one or more reflections;   means for dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission based on (i) a current speed of the vehicle or (ii) a current position of the vehicle, or a combination thereof; and   means for limiting the radiated power based on a maximum power threshold, wherein the maximum power threshold is adjusted based upon the current position of the vehicle.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising means for receiving the current speed of the vehicle or the current position of the vehicle from a positioning circuit comprising one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) configured to receive signals from one or more satellites. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising means for receiving the current speed of the vehicle or the current position of the vehicle from a positioning circuit comprising a local positioning system. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the means for dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission based on the current speed of the vehicle includes means for increasing the radiated power of the laser transmission as the current speed of the vehicle increases, and means for decreasing the radiated power of the laser transmission as the current speed of the vehicle decreases. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the means for dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission based on the current speed of the vehicle includes means for accessing a lookup table based on the current speed of the vehicle to obtain a signal strength adjustment value. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the means for dynamically adjusting the radiated power of the laser transmission includes means for adjusting one or more of an intensity, luminance, frequency, beam diameter, an orientation, and a direction of the laser transmission.